Guess Who's the Third Most Popular Movie Star in America Today?By John Nolte

No, it's not any of those celebrities we're told are stars.

DiCaprio and George Clooney didn't even make the top 10. Neither did Ashton Kutcher, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Seth Rogen, Matt Damon, Will Farrell, or Tom Cruise.

Every year for about 15 years now, Harris Interactive has conducted a nationwide poll and asked a very simple question: "Who is your favorite movie star?" And every year since the taking of the poll one particular individual has placed in the top ten - 13 of those years in the top 3.

This year, 2,388 U.S. adults were surveyed and this star rose three places to tie Will Smith for third. Only Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood rank as more popular. One last hint before the reveal: This star is the only actor in the history of the poll to rank posthumously: John Wayne...

...John Wayne represents is a canon of marvelous films, a half-dozen of which are outright masterpieces, followed by a dozen classics and a slew of wildly entertaining crowd pleasers that have already lived on in reruns and home video...

Wayne was the most popular and enduring star while alive and remains so today because he also represents honesty, justice, truth, liberty, America, fighting for what you believe in, integrity, chivalry, and most importantly in this awful era of the metrosexual, Wayne represents good ole' give-a-punch/take-a-punch/have-a-drink-and-laugh-about-it-later masculinity.

The Duke kept it simple and direct with a code best summed up in his final film, "The Shootist" (1976): I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

And don't let anyone ever let you forget that John Wayne happened to be one of the finest actors to ever grace the big screen.